Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Reds Star Player On Torrid Pace In Important 2024 Season

Originally posted on Total Apex Sports | By Justin Rimpi | Last updated 5/17/24

Cincinnati Reds Shortstop Elly De La Cruz stole his league-leading 30th stolen base on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is 13 stolen bases clear of second place, who is Tampa Bay Rays Shortstop Jose Caballero. De La Cruz went 4-of-4 in last night’s 7-2 victory in Los Angeles with a double and an RBI. He is no stranger to dominating against the Dodgers as he is hitting .483 with two home runs and five stolen bases in seven career games against Los Angeles.

De La Cruz is on pace for 110 stolen bases in 2024. If he keeps up that pace it would be the ninth-most stolen bases in a season in Major League Baseball history, and the most since Rickey Henderson swiped 130 bags in 1982. Hugh Nicol set the single-season stolen base record in 1887 when he stole a whopping 138 bases.

Will De La Cruz be able to keep up his historic pace?

Elly De La Cruz Career Summary

Elly De La Cruz is on pace for 110 stolen bases this season ? pic.twitter.com/1XtJp3ZhQs

— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2024

De La Cruz made his debut in June of 2023 with the Cincinnati Reds and has been one of the most electrifying players in the league ever since. After playing only 98 games in 2023, De La Cruz still finished ninth in the league last season with 35 stolen bases.

He is hitting .277 this season with nine home runs and 22 RBI. His .894 OPS is 17th in the league.

Cincinnati Reds Season Summary

It has been a disappointing season thus far for the Reds(19-25). They are only half a game back of the St. Louis Cardinals for last place in the National League Central. The Reds got off to a decent start, but have had a miserable month of May. They have gone 3-12 over their last 15 games. Cincinnati has the league’s third-worst batting average, sixth-most strikeouts, and fourth-fewest hits.

In addition to De La Cruz, the Cincinnati Reds offense is led by Left Fielder Spencer Steer who leads the team with 29 RBI.

Cincinnati’s pitching staff has been much better up until this point than their offense. They are 14th in ERA, ninth in strikeouts, and 12th in opposing batting average. Their pitching staff is led by Graham Ashcraft and Andrew Abbott. Ashcraft is 3-2 this season with a 4.12 ERA while Abbott is 2-4 with an ERA of 3.06.

Cincinnati Reds Upcoming Schedule

The Cincinnati Reds continue their four-game series with the Dodgers this evening in Los Angeles. The Reds head home following this series for a three-game set with the San Diego Padres beginning on Tuesday. De La Cruz will look to keep up his historic stolen base pace while the Reds look to get their season back on track.

This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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